Thomas Cook to offer 'pay as you go away' cover

The new products will be launched tomorrow as part of a reboot of its financial services under a new division called Thomas Cook Money.

Holiday giant Thomas Cook is poised to unveil pioneering new services for travellers that include pay-as-you-go travel insurance and a prepaid card for multiple currencies.

The new products will be launched tomorrow as part of a reboot of its financial services under a new division called Thomas Cook Money.

The new travel insurance, called Roam, allows customers to activate holiday cover at short notice using a smartphone app.

The new card will allow customers to load about ten different currencies on to the card

Anth Mooney, former director at Virgin Money and managing director of the division, said: ‘Customers can spend more than 30 minutes in the shop or online buying insurance, but this can be set up in just two minutes, costs around £2 a day and can be switched on and off via the app.

‘If your holiday is cancelled or cut short you can switch off the insurance so you only pay for the days you’re away – and if you go on another holiday that year then you can just switch the insurance back on.

‘About 20 per cent of people go on holiday without travel insurance so we wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to buy it.’

HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP

The company’s new pre-paid travel card, called Lyk, will operate under a partnership with Mastercard.

It will allow customers to load about ten different currencies on to the card and let them switch between them without paying commission.

The new products will initially be advertised online before being promoted in stores in the New Year.

Mooney said the innovations would make paying for holidays more ‘simple’ and ‘efficient’.

Reboot: Peter Fankhauser is embracing technology

He added: ‘After housing and food, our customers say their holiday is the most important spend for them and one they wish to protect.

‘Customers plan for their holidays all year round. They save up. They might pay for them with credit cards and they might borrow afterwards to cover any overspend.

‘It’s quite an inefficient way to manage your holiday spending so we can at least save them from a financial hangover when they get home.’

The new services will be formally launched by Thomas Cook two days before chief executive Peter Fankhauser reveals the company’s full-year financial results on Wednesday. Fankhauser became chief executive in 2014 and returned the company to profit a year later.

Analysts predict the firm will announce a 7 per cent jump in revenues to £8.8billion with profits of about £200million.

Fankhauser said: ‘The launch of Thomas Cook Money is our opportunity to transform the world of holiday money by embracing the very latest technology.’

The company’s existing financial products will be repackaged with new features and smartphone apps. Future products such as savings accounts and credit cards are being considered, although Mooney insisted the division will not operate as a bank.

Thomas Cook has 20million customers, based mainly in the UK, Germany and northern Europe.

The FTSE 250-listed company came close to collapse in 2011. A £200million loan and cost cutting allowed it to survive, but many stores were axed.